Of course the Europeans and the Iranians remain "far apart on their ultimate goals." The Iranians wish to develop a deliverable nuclear weapon, and the Europeans beg to differ. The opening part of this New York Times article almost seems relieved that both sides have supposedly agreed to defuse the tensions for a couple of months. The Iranians have allegedly promised that they will not resume the enrichment of uranium, although they are already hedging.

Why is it that the burden is upon the Europeans to provide the Iranians "with detailed, step-by-step proposals by early August at the latest on how to move toward consensus on the shape of Iran's nuclear program?" Should it not be the Europeans who are informing the government of Iran as to how precisely it can avert the punishment of sanctions, or other stronger measures, by standing down its nuclear program and allowing regular inspections to verify that the program is never started up again? This article by the Times almost makes it seem as if the Europeans are going to come groveling to Iran in a few months pleading for Iran not to resume work towards the production of a nuclear weapon.

Nothing has been achieved by this delay except to kick the problem down the road for a few months. The Iranians want a deliverable nuclear weapon, and the world is going to have to decide very soon whether it has the fortitude to stop them.